August, 1926
INDUSTRIAL A,VD ENGIYEERISG CHEMISTRY
will be applicable to these liquids. The perfume industry, as well as other fields where alcohol is used as a solvent, is yet to be investigated with reference to this test. Instead of using the regular graduated cylinder described above, a special tube can be made and so graduated as to show the percentage of alcohol direct. Such a tube may be made
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120 mm. long and have an inside diameter approximately 11mm. Acknowledgment
The writer is indebted to E. Raymond Riegel, University of Buffaio, for his kind advice and assistance.
Destruction of Vitamin A in Milk b y UltraViolet Light’s’ By R. W. Titus, J. S. Hughes, W. R. Hinshaw, and J. B. Fitch KANSAS
STATE AGRICULTURAL COI,LEGE, MANHATTAN, KANS.
TEEKBOCK, Hart, Hoppert, and Black3 have called attention to the fact that the antirachitic vitamin in cow’s milk is increased eight or more times by the exposure to the radiations of the quartz-mercury vapor lamp. They suggest the possibility of the practical utilization of this principle in the preparation of infant foods, and suggest to dairymen the beneficial results which may be expected from such treatment. I n a report of the Medical Research Council4 it is stated, “the plan of exposing milk, t o ultraviolet rays, in order to increase its nourishing qualities is proving highly successful.” I n this connection it should be pointed out thitt, while the irradiation of milk enhances its nutritive value as far as its vitamin D content is concerned, it materially decreases its nutritive value with respect to its vitamin A content. This is of particular importance in infant feeding, since milk is the main source of vitamin A in such cases. The experiment described herein substantiates these facts. Since chicks have been showns to be very susceptible to the lack of vitamin A, they were chosen as the experimental animals for testing the influence of ultra-violet light on the destruction of vitamin A. Two lots of fourteen each, day-old chicks (white Leghorns) were taken for the experiment. From previous experiments we have learned that chicks treated with ultra-violet light and fed a ration of white corn and tankage, when supplied with vitamin A, make satisfactory growth. These two lots of chicks were accordingly irradiated with a quartz-mercury vapor lamp 15 minutes per day, fed a ration of 90 per cent white corn chop and 10 per cent tankage, and given 5 cc. of fresh whole milk as the only source of vitamin A. The only difference in the treatment of the two lots was that the milk given to Lot I was irradiated and that given to Lot I1 was nonirradiated. The milk, in a sheet-iron pan, was irradiated by being subjected to the rays of the quartz mercury vapor lamp, placed 45 to 50 cm. (18 to 20 inches) above its surfact:. The pan was rocked back and forth about once every 3 minutes in order to expose the milk to a greater extent, its depth being about 2 mm. or less. The two lots of chicks were kept in small pens. about 1 x’ 2 meters (3 X 6 feet), inside the animal house. The experiment was carried on for 7 weeks, with the results as shown by the chart. At the end of the experiment the chicks of Lot I1 showed no signs of vitamin A deficiency. The one remaining chick of
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1 Presented by Titus, Hughes, and Fitch before the Division of Biological Chemistry at the 71st Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Tulsa, Okla., April 5 to 9, 1926. 2 Contribution No. 121 from the Department of Chemistry, Kansas State Agricultural College. 8 J . Biol. Chem , 66, 441 (1925). 4 J. A m Med. Assoc., 86, 565 (1926). 6 Hart, Steenbock, Lepkovsky, and H a l p ~ n ,J. Btol. Chem , 60, 341 (1924).
Lot I was apparently a n outstanding individual and was able to survive the unfavorable conditions. With the one exception, all chicks of Lot I died, showing typical vitamin A deficiency. The chicks showed general unthrift and in two cases well-advanced stages of opthalmia developed before death. This agrees with the finding of Emmett and Peacock,6 who have reported the occurrence of ophthalmia in their chicks suffering from vitamin A deficiency. The most marked lesion observed on autopsy was an enlargement of the kidneys, which were paler than normal owing to an excessive amount of urates in the tubules.’ Another common
Destruction of V i t a m i n A Milk Subjected t o Irradiations of the Quartz-Mercury Vapor L a m p as S h o w n b y H i g h Mortality of Chicks
in Lot I
lesion observed was a pericarditis, in which was observed a marked deposit of a urate-like material in the pericardial sac and over the pericardium. It was not uncommon to see this same urate-like deposit covering the liver and intestines. BeachE and Hart, Steenbock, and co-workers5 have called attention to the white streaks on the surface of the liver. 6
7
J . Biol. Chem., 66, 679 (1923). Bushnell and Hinshaw, Dept. of Bacteriology, Kansas Expt. Sta.,
Circ. 106. 8 A m . Vet. Med. Assoc., 11, 303 (1921).
